Coast Guard Academy Red Brick Hall
After World War II, the many factories and warehouses of the former Naval Arsenal’s Pyrotechnic Department were repurposed as campus buildings for the Coast Guard Academy, which relocated to Kure in 1952. However, as the academy expanded and modernized, many of the original brick buildings were destroyed and replaced. Today, just a few of the original structures are still standing: the Red Brick Hall (1914), Laboratory for Testing Anchor Holding Power (built in 1891), and a classroom (built in 1933).
The Red Brick Hall was built as the machine room for a gunpowder mill. It survived the air raids of World War II unscathed, and its exterior remains largely as it was in the early twentieth century. The single-story building is 36 meters long, 8.6 meters wide, and 312 square meters in area. The original wooden floorboards have been replaced by a solid concrete floor. The roof is wood frame covered with thick slate tiles.
The Western architectural style of the Red Brick Hall is a testament to the strong relationship that existed between the Japanese Imperial Navy and the British Royal Navy at the time it was built. It is also an example of how Kure has been shaped by Western influences. The hall was designated a Tangible Cultural Property in 2017 by the city of Kure. The Coast Guard Academy currently uses it as a multipurpose building.